The wolf contract

The air in the hall was heavy with the smell of blood and gold. I stood among men, my hands tied with a thin rope, my worn white dress clinging to my body with sweat. My father... he sold me. With just three words. "My daughter for the debts." I raised my head slowly. He sat on a black throne, far in the shadows. I couldn't see his face. Only his eyes. Golden eyes. Wolf eyes. He didn't blink. He didn't speak. He just gestured with his finger. One of his men pulled me until I stood right in front of him. The smell of musk and old blood choked me. "Your name?" His voice was rough, like it came from a grave. "Liana..." I whispered, my voice trembling. He held out his hand. His hand was large, cold as ice, with a silver ring shaped like a claw. He placed a paper in front of him. A contract. "Sign here, Liana." He said my name like a curse. "One year. You will be my wife on paper. You protect my pack from the curse. And after... you are free." I laughed bitterly, tears on the verge of falling. "Free? After they sold me?" His face came closer to me. Finally, I saw him. Cruelly handsome. A sharp jaw. And a small scar above his eyebrow. But his eyes... there was fear in them. Not of me. But for me. "You have no choice." He pulled out a small dagger and cut his palm. Black blood dripped onto the contract. "Either you sign with your blood... or you die now, and my pack takes your soul instead." I froze. The whole world turned black except for his golden eyes. I picked up the dagger with a trembling hand. I signed. And the moment my blood touched the ink... He howled. Not from his mouth. From his chest. The door behind me closed on its own. And the curse began.